


Birthday Blues

by Aseikh



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Party, Childhood Friends, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:08:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23859547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aseikh/pseuds/Aseikh
Summary: After attending George's birthday party, Will arrives back at Halt's cabin with some complicated feelings.
Relationships: Halt O'Carrick & Will Treaty, Will Treaty & Wardmates
Comments: 12
Kudos: 72
Collections: Ranger's Apprentice Quarantine Exchange Party





	Birthday Blues

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Maeve_Lynn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maeve_Lynn/gifts).



> I've got a few people to thank/credit for this idea. I got an anonymous ask over on Tumblr a while ago asking how Will not knowing his birthday would make him feel. Additionally, lots of friends over on the Ranger Corps discord have spoken about Will not knowing his birthday and what others would do to make him feel better. Specifically I can recall Thursday and Latte talking about it. So, here's a short piece on what I think happens :D

"Really, you all don't have to do this for me," George mumbled, shaking his head as Jenny dragged him down to a sitting position, closing their small circle. Will grinned at his wardmate, gesturing at the picnic basket that Alyss had placed in the center of the blanket. Somehow, all four of them had managed to get time off for the get-together, except Horace of course. They didn't get many chances to come together, so when George's birthday started to approach, Jenny reached out to the other wards to organize the small party. It felt weird without Horace there, but there was only so much they could do when he was days away at Castle Araluen.

"Of course we had to do this, George, darling," Jenny said, leaning forward to open the basket. "It's your birthday!" Alyss had brought it, but only because Jenny had to work right up until they were meeting. She had filled the basket with sweets, treats, and other delicacies she knew her friends enjoyed and passed it off to Alyss just before her shift in the kitchens started. Jenny, still in her kitchens uniform, started pulling out the treats, each different thing wrapped in wax paper. The more she pulled out, the redder George's cheeks became.

Alyss laughed and placed a hand on the scribe's shoulder. Will smiled from across the blanket, looking up and around the area they were sitting. They were just at the edge of Wensley village, just outside the tree line and only a minute walk from the cabin. With Will finally onto his fourth year of his apprenticeship, Halt was giving him a little more leeway, allowing him to practice on his own as long as he didn't slack off. And Will didn't—except for this small break. It was worth it, though, for Alyss, Jenny, and George.

For the next hour, they had a small celebration for George's birthday, first singing to him, and then sharing the treats that Jenny had brought. George blew out a single candle on a small cupcake, and then tried to share it with the others, not wanting to have the only cake for himself until Jenny pulled out three more. There wasn't much else to do besides talk, so the four of them exchanged stories about things going on at their apprenticeships. There was only so much Will and Alyss could share, their work being mostly confidential, but Jenny was able to provide enough kitchen drama for their share. Soon enough, the four of them were sprawled across the blanket, Will propping his head up with his elbow and hand, Jenny's head resting on his lap and Alyss laying completely on her back perpendicular to them with her legs crossed. George was the only one still sitting up, his legs crossed and a wide smile on his face as he laughed at Jenny's latest story.

Will, though, found it hard on his part to smile through the whole gathering. He didn't know why—didn't know what was causing it—but unease and anxiety kept building in his stomach, old innate instincts telling him to get up and _run._ Even then, though, Will wasn't letting his feelings overwhelm logic—he was constantly checking around them, constantly watching the shadows for anything out of the ordinary and he saw nothing wrong. He had even seen Halt on his way back from the castle, waving to his mentor to catch his attention. He hadn't come over but he waved back nonetheless.

There was absolutely no reason for him to feel this way.

But as the minutes ticked on, Will found that _something_ kept telling him that _something_ was wrong. Like he wasn't supposed to be there. Like he wasn't _meant_ to be there. It was like a shadow had fallen over him, blocking out any chance of happiness for the day, despite the sky being clear and not a single cloud to be seen.

He'd had days like this before, of course, when the past just got too heavy and no matter how bright it was outside, it didn't help. But usually things triggered those feelings—a rough grab, a cold breeze, a stray comment. Nothing like that had happened today. It was, by all accounts, a good day.

Except that it wasn't.

Jenny's story ended and the other two wards broke out into laughter, Jenny barely able to control her own as she talked through another apprentice dropping a cake in front of Chubb. Will forced a smile, staring up at the sky and feeling Jenny's head bounce on his legs as she finally broke out into giggles.

"Is everything alright, Will?" Looking to his left, Will saw Alyss's keen gray eyes studying him, a smile on her lips but concern in her gaze.

It was only those few words that made the scene around them pause. George and Jenny looked at him from their spots, the curiosity and concern in their movements immediately setting Will off. He didn't want to make this about himself, it was _George's_ birthday, not his time to vent. Either way, he didn't even know what was bothering him … he just knew that something was.

"I …" Will hesitated, eyes going around their small circle to each of his friends. He didn't want them to worry unnecessarily, especially when he couldn't figure out what was making him feel this way in the first place. "I'm good," he said quietly, hesitating on his next words. "I … I just remembered that I promised Halt I would work on our maps today, though," he looked away from his friends, staring into the forest towards where he knew the cabin would be. It was a terrible excuse, but one that they would believe—four years had gone by, but they were all still slightly put off by Halt.

"Oh," Jenny said, her smile dropping from her face. She looked genuinely sad, but she sat up from her spot anyways, allowing Will to stand. In one smooth motion, he did, barely disturbing the blanket they'd been on. He bent for his cloak, where he'd bundled it up and tossed to the side of their small picnic. Tossing it over his shoulders, he threw the hood up and looked down at his friends. George was nodding, looking to the sky to check the time for himself, probably because he had some meeting to get to. Alyss was watching Will, a small frown on her face and Jenny had already seemed to come to terms with him leaving, laying back down and smiling up at him.

"Say hi to Halt for me," she said, nudging him with her foot. Will smiled—she didn't even know Halt, had probably met him twice in the time that they'd been apprenticed to their masters. But Jenny was Jenny, and she would always extend a hand of friendship if she knew the person was important to one of her friends.

"Same here," Alyss said softly, waving to Will. George also waved, mumbling something about thanking him for being there.

"I will," Will said back, smiling and knowing that Halt would only grunt at the comment if he even bothered to say it. He turned away before he could change his mind, ducking into the forest and disappearing from his friends' sights before anyone could try to stop him.

* * *

Halt looked up from the letter he'd been reading, hearing a whinny from the horses. He frowned, confused for a moment when he recognized the sound of Will's gait coming towards the front door. When Will had left, he had told Halt not to wait up for him for dinner, saying that he'd be out late with his wardmates for some random reason. It was barely past their usual dinner time now and Halt hadn't even eaten yet. That told him that Will had probably been intending to be out much longer.

And yet here he was, slipping through the front door with his hood up, an uncharacteristic frown marring his normally happy face. Now it was Halt's turn to frown, sensing that something was wrong.

Will said nothing as he closed the front door, swinging off his cloak and hanging it on one of the pegs just to the right of the doorway. The boy was wearing his knives like he normally would, but he had left his bow and quiver here due to not being far from the cabin and not wanting to bother with the arrows and laying the bow down. As Will moved through the cabin, Halt studied his apprentice, eyes going up and down him for anything else that seemed off. Was he limping? Did he seem to be hurt? He cheeks weren't flushed, and Halt didn't notice any new bruises except the ones that had been from training earlier in the day. If he wasn't hurt or sick, then what was wrong?

The grizzled Ranger remained silent as he watched his apprentice. Will walked into his room only to return a few moments later with his bow and quiver in his hands.

"I'm gonna go practice," he said quietly, strapping his quiver to around his chest and checking over his bow before moving stringing it.

Halt nodded, at first not going to say anything. But something in Will's tone of voice, the way he said those four words, told Halt that _something_ was wrong. And he wasn't comfortable with just leaving it at that.

"I thought you were staying out later?" Halt started, wondering if the simple question would kick off whatever Will was dealing with.

But Will didn't take the bait. "Things changed," he said simply, shrugging his shoulders. He picked up the corner of his cloak, considering it for a moment, before releasing the fabric. He still hesitated to string the bow, though, looking at the long piece of wood like he didn't know what it was for.

"Is everything alright?" Halt finally asked bluntly, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. Halt watched closely as Will seemed to pause at his words, taking them in, before looking up to meet his mentor's eyes.

"I …" Will's voice halted, stuck for a moment. "I, yeah, I'm fine," he said, his frown deepening, eyebrows furrowing as he stared at Halt. In all their time together, Halt wasn't normally the one to step forward to talk about feelings. But ever since Skandia, Halt had been trying to make an effort to check in with Will whenever he seemed off. Normally, though, Will would come to Halt if something was wrong—it wasn't often that Halt had to prompt Will.

Sighing, Halt turned in his seat and looked straight at his apprentice. "Then why don't I believe you?" he said quietly, lacing his fingers together between his knees.

Will froze where he was at, wide eyes staring owlishly at Halt. He hadn't expected Halt to just outright confront him on something like this. He hadn't thought he'd been acting off, being obvious about _something_ being wrong. But Halt could read him in ways he didn't even understand, and he'd proven it multiple times. It was another mystery of being the Ranger's apprentice. "I—I don't—" Will stumbled over his words, not sure what to say.

Halt turned back towards the table, gesturing to the chair across from him. Will watched his mentor's movement, registered what the movement meant, but remained in his spot. It was only when Halt raised an eyebrow while he waited that Will realized he didn't have much of a choice. If Halt wanted him to do something, no matter how much Will _didn't_ want to do it, he would find a way to get Will to do it eventually. No matter how long it took. Better to just get it over with, even if he still didn't understand exactly what was wrong.

Sliding into the seat across from Halt, Will sat stiffly, awaiting whatever questions Halt had for him.

"What's wrong?" the grizzled Ranger asked bluntly, brushing the papers in front of him together into a stack. He hadn't been reading them anyways.

Fidgeting in his seat, Will shrugged. "I don't know," he said, hoping that Halt could tell he was being honest. Because, really, he _didn't_ know what was wrong. It just happened sometimes. Especially after Skandia, it just … it just happened.

Halt was watching the boy's movement though, saw him itching to get up and run out of the cabin. Obviously he could tell that Will actually didn't know what was wrong, but that didn't mean Halt was going to let it go. If he let it go, it would only fester and get worse for Will, until eventually it broke him. "Tell me what happened, then," Halt said, picking up the papers and pushing in the sides to get a clean stack.

Will frowned at Halt and slumped his shoulders forward, folding into himself. "I—I'm not sure, Halt, really—"

"Just walk me through what happened with your friends. Alyss, Jenny, and George, right?" Halt set the papers to the side and then stood up from the table and walked into the kitchenette. Everything that he needed to start coffee was already out on the counter, as he'd been thinking about making himself a cup while reading through the papers. But now it seemed like Will was due for a cup as well.

The apprentice hesitated for a minute, tapping his toes on the wood floor. He was normally naturally quiet, Halt mentally noted, so when he made the effort to make intentional noise, it always meant something. It was a minute before Will actually said anything, Halt already half-way through the process of making the coffee.

"Well … yeah, it was just me, Alyss, Jenny, and George. We were having a picnic at the edge of the forest not too far from here. You saw us."

Halt nodded, not turning back to Will yet. "Was there a special occasion?" he asked, "Getting the four of you there would have been difficult with your apprenticeships."

Will laced his fingers together in front of him on the table, studying his calloused, scarred hands. "It was George's birthday," Will said softly. "Horace had been planning to be there too, but he sent a letter a few days ago saying he couldn't make it. Something about special training with Sir David."

"Ah," Halt said, stepping back and waiting for the water to boil. He knew David, and so did Will, even if he didn't recognize the name right away. It was a good thing Horace was training with him, a good opportunity. But Halt didn't think that was what Will was so focused on. "How old is he?"

"Nineteen," Will said, still studying his hands without even a hint of a smile on his face. "He's the youngest of us, so we use his birthday to mark our years together, as weird as that sounds." Will forced out a strangled laugh, one that Halt heard and deciphered immediately. He turned to look at Will, seeing him picking dirt from underneath his nails. He was biting his lip too, something that Halt believed he wasn't even aware of.

"I didn't know that," Halt said, noncommittally. "I would have thought he'd be the middle child," Halt added, half smiling to himself. He turned back to the counter, seeing that the coffee was finished. He pulled two mugs from the shelves above his head and set them on the counter before pulling the jar of honey closer to him.

"I mean, well, that's what we guess. That _he's_ the youngest," Will amended, running a hand through his hair. He shrugged his shoulders, watching as Halt poured out the coffee and added dollops of honey to each mug. "He was the last one to be dropped off at the Ward."

That's when Halt paused, both mugs in his hands as he turned back towards the table. Anyone else listening in on the conversation wouldn't have caught the change in Will's tone, but to Halt it was obvious. The Ranger was silent for a moment, not saying anything as he pulled himself out of the daze and walked forward to place a mug in front of Will. He then set his own mug down and sat back in his seat. "You guess?" Halt repeated curiously, watching his apprentice for his reaction.

Will shrugged, wrapping his hands around the mug and staring into the dark liquid. "Well, yeah, I thought you knew—" Will cut himself off, looking away. Suddenly, his cheeks were bright red and he refused to meet Halt's gaze. Instead, he looked towards the cold fireplace, his eyes with a panicked look to them.

"Knew what?" Halt asked. Will was silent though, not responding to Halt's question. "Will, what did you think I knew?" he repeated, kicking the boy's shin underneath the table. Will jerked at the sudden kick, but still refused to meet Halt's gaze.

Will tapped the mug. He hadn't taken a single sip and the hot liquid was cooling off fast. "Well—we—" Will shifted in his seat, his head ducked so Halt couldn't see the majority of his face. "We just _assume_ George is the youngest, Halt," he said again, "because, well …" Halt waited, sensing that this was something Will needed to talk through with himself before bringing it to Halt's attention.

As he waited, Halt took a sip of his coffee, satisfied at the perfect drinking temperature. If Will didn't start drinking his soon, it would get cold—something Halt knew was odd for him. Ever since Will had joined Halt at the cabin, he'd picked up Halt's habit of drinking coffee. Since he was so observant, Will noticed quickly how long Halt let his coffee cool before drinking it and had picked up the habit. And yet here he was, letting the drink cool past it's perfect temperature.

"We don't … actually know when my birthday is," Will mumbled, slumping further down into his chair. Now his face was completely red and his hands had slipped from the mug and were crossed in front of his chest. He was acting like he was embarrassed by it, like it was some huge secret that would be the end of him if anyone knew it.

All Halt did was frown. "Your birthday?" he asked, leaning back in his chair to cross his own arms. "You don't know when your birthday is?"

Now that Will said it, Halt thought, it made sense. Halt hadn't written on the slip when his birthday was, let alone who his father and mother were, so there was no way for Will to have known that information. And now that Halt was aware of this, he realized how … _different_ that missing knowledge must have made Will feel. His friends had been able to celebrate their birthdays consistently, every year, and here Will was without even an inkling of what that information for himself would be.

"No," Will muttered finally, reaching a hand out for the coffee. He was finally giving in to the temptation, but now the coffee was already disappointingly cold. "I don't."

Halt tipped his head, studying his apprentice. "So how do you know how old you are?" Halt asked, curious now that Will had brought it up.

Will shrugged again, wrinkling his nose at the cold coffee as he took a gulp of it. After taking a few gulps, he set the mug down. "Like I said, we assume George is the youngest. So when his birthday passes, we just _assume_ that …"

"That you're a year older as well," Halt finished for him, nodding his head. It made sense. Choose a time and base it off that. Halt was honestly surprised that the caretakers hadn't just celebrated Will's birthday the day he'd been dropped off at the Ward—maybe they hadn't because they knew he was obviously older than that, but couldn't tell exactly how much older he was. "Will …" Halt started, tracing the rim of his coffee mug. It was now empty, all of the delicious drink warming his stomach. "Do you think this is what was bothering you?"

Will frowned, looking up at Halt. "My birthday? Halt, I haven't known for eighteen—nineteen years. Why would it start bothering me now?"

"Has it not bothered you before? Whenever you celebrated the others' birthdays?" Halt asked, not quite believing Will. _Maybe_ he was used to not celebrating his birthday, _maybe_ he had come to terms with not knowing. But that didn't mean that he was okay with being denied that knowledge, especially when it seemed like basic information for anyone else. And here Will was, no family name, no birthday—only a first name and some friends.

That made Halt think of his own birthday. Personally, he didn't celebrate his and hadn't celebrated it for years. But that was Halt, and he had made the choice to not celebrate years ago, for his own personal reasons. Unlike Will, though, Halt knew the day he was born and knew what it meant to him. Will didn't get even that.

Will didn't answer Halt's question. He simply looked away from the grizzled Ranger. But then he seemed to pause, a thoughtful look to his face that told Halt that Will had a question building. Instead of bothering him to answer his own question, Halt let the young man simmer for a moment.

"Halt," Will said, sitting up fully in his seat. "Do … do _you_ know when my birthday is?"

Halt should have seen that question coming. He _had_ told Will that he had known his father and had been the one to drop him off at the Ward. Logic would tell anyone that the person who dropped a baby off at an orphanage would probably know the babe's date of birth. So if anyone was to know when Will's birthday was, it would be him.

Slowly, though, gently, Halt shook his head. "When I found you, Will, you were already a few weeks old. I can take a wild guess, but …"

"But you don't know," Will finished for his mentor, the disappointment in his voice acting like a stab to Halt's heart. He tried being the best … mentor for Will, but even Halt couldn't step in for his parents. Not entirely, at least. There was just some information that Halt couldn't give, as much as he wished that he could.

"No, Will," Halt said softly, "I'm sorry. I don't know."

* * *

A month later, and Halt's plans had finally come to culmination.

"What's for dinner?" Will asked, heading into the kitchen ahead of Halt. "I can start it up if you want."

Halt glanced outside for the time, seeing that the sun was just starting to sink into the trees. Any other time, Halt would have told Will to pull out some meat or another, and to make whatever he wanted. But there was something else on Halt's mind that night and so he shook his head. "Don't bother," he said simply, waving his hand in Will's direction. "I'm kind of feeling like we should go to the inn for some food tonight."

Will turned to look at Halt, hands on his hips and an eyebrow raised at his comment. "You … want to go out for food?" Will asked, unsure if he heard his mentor right.

"Yeah," Halt responded, shrugging, "We don't do it often. Why not?"

Now Will looked suspicious, frowning at Halt with his eyebrows furrowed. "We've … never done that, Halt. Ever."

"No reason to not start now," Halt said, gesturing towards the door. "Either way, I'm sure Joel will be happy to see us."

Halt started for the door, Will following a few steps behind him. "Is there something going on with Joel?" Will asked, hands going to his throat to secure his cloak. "Does he need help with something? Is that why we're going to the inn, you could have just said that from the beginning if—"

"Will," Halt cut in, "there's nothing wrong with Joel, he doesn't need our help with anything, and that's not _why_ we're going. I just don't feel like cooking tonight." He started down the steps of the porch, walking towards the path and not bothering to go fetch the horses. They didn't need to ride to Wensley when they could just walk. The horses deserved the rest anyways.

Following behind him, Will threw out his hands, exasperated with Halt. "I offered to cook! It's just weird that you want to go eat out all of a sudden, for the first time in the four years that I've been with you. I feel like I deserve some credit for even noticing that this is out of the ordinary."

Halt kept walking, not bothering to check behind him to see if Will was still following. He couldn't hear his apprentice either, not in the forest and with his training, but Halt knew that Will would follow him no matter what.

It only took them five minutes to walk into the town from their cabin and only five minutes for Will to give up in trying to figure out what Halt was doing and follow diligently behind him.

The streets of Wensley weren't crowded as they usually were during the day, but there were still some people going up and down the streets like normal, heading home from their hard days at work. Seeing the two Rangers, though, some people waved while others ducked down alleyways or looked away quickly. Will waved back to those he recognized, smiling and nearly forgetting whatever he and Halt were doing in town to begin with.

It was only when Halt stopped in front of the inn that Will remembered his mentor acting suspiciously about supposedly eating out at the inn. He figured Halt was up to something, but whatever it was that he was planning, Will couldn't figure it out. So the only solution, he figured, would be to play along and find out.

Before going inside, Will glanced to the windows of the inn, seeing that the curtains were drawn but that there were more than a few shadows moving around behind them. He tried remembering when he usually saw the curtains drawn in the windows of Joel's inn, but couldn't think back to a time when he even really noticed that fact. Shrugging internally, Will grabbed the door from behind Halt when his mentor opened it, holding it so Halt could walk in without the door banging shut on either of them.

Walking through the door, Will didn't notice anything off at first. The tables were placed the same as they were before, the lights were dimmed slightly and the fire was going—just as they normally were. It looked like Joel, the innkeeper, had hung up lanterns along the beams, keeping the atmosphere but increasing the light. But then Will's eyes finally adjusted to the lighting and he could make out the faces of the patrons who turned to face him and Halt as they walked in. Just before Will missed him, Joel ducked behind the counter, a smirk plastered across the innkeepers face. But then the man was gone, slipping into the backroom before anything else could be said.

His wardmates were there, Alyss, Jenny, George, but also Horace, who hadn't been able to get his leave for George's birthday but was here now. Not just that, though, but Gilan was there as well and beside him was Lady Pauline.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" the shout rang out from the throats of those around him and Will felt a hand slap his shoulder and draw him into a half-hug. An oddly familiar, seldom experienced hug that Will didn't recognize right away in his shock.

Looking to his left, Halt stood close beside him, his arm around Will's shoulders and a proud, soft smile spread across his face. Before Will could say anything to his mentor or the family that surrounded him, Horace came forward, wrapping Will in a bear hug and lifting him off his feet. Horace spun and Will laughed arms reacting instinctively to wrap around his friend's neck. When the young knight finally put him down and let go, Alyss came forward and gave his a kiss on the check and a warm hug, followed by Jenny, who just enveloped him in a familiar, soft hug, and George, who stood awkwardly in front of him before smiling and holding out his hand. Laughing, Will started to take it, only to be once again bowled over by Horace's arms going around both his and George's shoulders, joining them all together in a guffawing, awkward tumble.

When Will finally untangled himself from Horace, he turned to see Gilan leaning against the wall near where Halt stood with Pauline.

"I thought you said—" Will started, walking towards Halt.

Halt cut him off. "Maybe I don't know when your birthday is, Will," he shrugged, looking completely unabashed, "but that doesn't mean you shouldn't get to celebrate your life." Will smiled, and opened it to say something else, a thank you, _something,_ but then Halt cut him off by saying something else. "I will say, though, that you were born in late October, Will. I found you in early November, so we can easily choose a day you like and run with it. Or," he continued, shrugging, "we can leave it how it is for now."

Will paused, hesitating at this news. After his and Halt's talk that one evening, Will _had_ wondered what exact information Halt knew. He was happy to finally know that small piece of information, but at the same time … "I think I'll keep it like this for now," he said, glancing behind him to where his friends waited. "Why change now, after all these years?"

Just as he finished what he was saying, Gilan threw his lanky arm around Will's shoulders, pulling him into a hug. "I wish I had known that you didn't know," Gilan said, mussing up Will's hair. "I would have done something much earlier than now," he said while laughing. Pauline smiled at him from her spot next to Halt, but Will had started seeing her often enough to know what that look meant. She and Halt were more similar than most people realized, silently giving support, silently supporting, and giving praise when earned.

As Gilan tugged him back towards his wardmates, arm around him, Will glanced back towards Halt, smiling to himself. Maybe Halt wouldn't show it, and maybe he wouldn't say it, but Will could tell immediately that he had worked hard to make this happen. Pulling Gilan from his fief, even for a few days, took a lot of convincing even being best friends with the commandant. Getting Horace there, a knight now training at Castle Araluen, probably would have been even harder—he would have had to pull strings both at Redmont and at Araluen.

And yet here they all were, all those he considered family, save for Cassandra, around him and pulling him into their space. Halt wouldn't want to talk tonight, not in front of everyone, but Will gave himself the mental note to thank Halt later.

Even if he would dismiss it as no big deal.


End file.
